The unapproved kicking ball that sources told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that a Gillette Stadium officials' locker room attendant tried to introduce into the AFC Championship Game was handed to the man by an NFL official, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

ESPN reported the source told them one of the "K balls," which are used only for special-teams play, went missing, and an NFL official in charge of collecting balls for charity gave another ball to Jim McNally, who works the officials' locker room at Patriots games.

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McNally then gave it to Greg Yette, an alternate official who was in charge of putting the K balls into play. When Yette saw that ball did not have the pregame marking referee Walt Anderson had put on the ball, he became suspicious and alerted NFL officials in the press box, ESPN reported, citing sources that spoke with "Outside the Lines."

A source told ESPN's Schefter that the man in charge of collecting balls for charity has been fired by the league for selling the footballs meant for charity for a profit over a period of time.

The source said that a different NFL official also handed a ball to an equipment manager to be passed along to Yette later in the game.

The source said the NFL has video of the ball being given to McNally and the equipment manager, and that video is part of attorney Ted Wells' investigation into accusations that the Patriots used underinflated footballs in the first half of their 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts that sent them to the Super Bowl.